Means for securing license-tags to vehicles



. J. F. PARKER. MEANS FOR SECURING LICENSE TAGS T0 VEHICLES.

APPLlcArioN FILED JULY 26.1920. 1,358,872. I

Patented Nov; 16, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH F. PARKER, OF GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS.

MEANS FOR SEGUE-ING LICENSE-TAGS TO VEHICLES.

Application filed July 26,

T0 @Z510/wm t may concern:

Be it known that l, Josnrn l?. Pannen, a citizen or" the United States,and resident of Gardner, Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Means for Securing` License-Tags to Vehicles, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for securing license plates or tags tovehicles and its principal object is to provide a simple, durable andefficient device whereby the license tags may be quickly and easilyattached or removed and at the same time are securely held againstaccidental displacement or loss. A further object is to elimi* nate theunpleasant noise so common in the ordinary fasteners due to the factthat they become loose under the constant vibration of the vehicle.A

My invention is fully described in the following Specilication and shownin the accompanying drawing in which- Figure l is a front elevationshowing the device in operative position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my device.

Referring now to the drawing, l indicates a bracket such as isordinarily provided at .some part of the vehicle for the reception andsupport of a license tag 2. The bracket l includes a long arm la whichis provided with longitudinal slots 1b and 10, and the tag 2 is providednear its upper edge with similar longitudinal slots 2b and 2c whichregister approximately with the slots in the bracket. The usual methodof attachment is by means of threaded bolts which are passed 'throughthe slots in the tag and bracket and secured by ordinary nuts. There areseveral objections to the above method, the most common of which are,rst, the bolts become rusted due to exposure to weather and often haveto be cut ofi' when it becomes necessary to remove the tag; and second,the nuts often become loose causing unpleasant noise and notinfrequently work entirely o ff resulting in loss of the tag whichnecessitates unnecessary expense and annoyance.

By my invention I provide a device which cooperates with the same slotsabove described and which can be attached by any person in a few secondsand which cannot become loose.

My device comprises a fiat metal bar 3, having a longitudinal slot 4;extending from a point adjacent one end toward the. cen- Speciiicationof Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1.6, 1920.

192e. serial No. 398,374.

ter. From each side of the bar 3 at a point adjacent its opposite endrectangular notches are out so as to leave the end approximatelyT-shaped as shown at 5. This T-shaped enld portion. 5 is turnedoutwardly at an angle. A relatively short flat bar 3 of spring metal isslidably held against the of the bar 3 adjacent the slot by means of arivet Z placed adjacent one end said end being of similar T-shape andbent outwardly in the same manner as the end 5 of the bar 3, as shown at6a. The opposite end of the bar G has relatively narrow lateralextensions 8 whirh are turned upwardly at a right angle to the face ofthe bar for a distance slightly greater than the thickness thereof andthen turned outwardly and slightly downwardly So as to form a recess 9whereby, when the tace bar 6 is swung into the plane of the bar 3,

it Vwill be securely held within the recess 9 due to tension of thespring metal. The inclined portions 8a cause this tension of the springmetal as they engage the bar 3, which tension is released as the barscome into perfect alinement, thus7 the members 8 perform the functionsof a spring latch. A fiat curved spring 11 is suitably attached at itscenter at a point near the end 5 of the bar 3, its ends extendingoutwardly therefrom.

The operation of the device is as follows: The tag 2 is held by one handof the operator against the bracket l so that the slots are brought intoregister. Holding the bar 3 in a substantially vertical position withhis other hand the operator passes the T- shaped end 5 through the slotsat one end of the tag and bracket. The bar 3 is then swung toward theother end of the tag to a horizontal position and is held against theface thereof against the tension of the spring ll, so that the T-shapedend 5 lies at right angles to the slots, the shoulders of the T abuttingagainst the inner side of the bracket adjacent the slots. By swingingthe shorter bar 6 to a vertical position the T-shaped end 6iL thereof issimilarly passed through the slots at the opposite end of the tag andbracket. The bar 6 is then swung into alinement with the bar 3 andsecured as above described by means of the recess 9. The outwardpressure of the spring 1l holds the device securely in position andprevents the noise so common to the present methods as above referredto.

To remove the tag it is only necessary to press the bar 6 inward untilthe recess 9 is clear of the bar 3, swing the bar to a vertical positionso as to withdraw the T-shaped end 6a through the slots, whereupon thelonger bar 3 maybe swung to a similar position for the withdrawal of'the other T- shaped end 5.

Thus it will be seen that I provide an extremely simple and eflicientdevice which may be quickly attached and detached and which isabsolutely secure against l accidental displacement, thereby eliminatingthe greatest disadvantages of the presentV method. Furthermore, by meansof the sliding bar 6 and the slot 4, my device may be utilized on tagsof different lengths without change.

vVhat I claim is:

l. A device for securing license tags to vehicles'comprising a bar,having an an gularly turned, headed slot engaging end, a second barslidably and pivotally connected to said first named bar and having anangularly turned headed slot engaging end and means for locking saidsecond bar in substantial alinement with the first named bar.

2. A'device for securing license tags to vehicles comprising a bar,having an angularly turned, headed slot engaging end, a 'second barslidably and pivotally connectedlto lsaid first named bar and having anangularly turned headed slot engaging end, said second bar being ofresilient material and means carried by one of said bars for engagingthe other bar to hold said second bar against pivotal movement.

SqA device for securing license tags to vehicles comprising a barvhaving an angularly turned headed slot engaging end, a second barslidably pivoted tovsaid first named bar and having an angularly turnedheaded end, means for locking said second bar in parallelism with saidfirst named bar, and a presser spring carried by said first named bar.

4. AV device for securing license tags to vehicles, comprising a flatmetal bar having one end of' substantially T-shape and turned outwardly,a centrally disposed longitudinal slot adjacent its other end, arelatively short flat bar movably secured in said slot from a pointadjacent one end, said end being of' substantially T-shape and turnedoutwardly, the other end of said shorter bar having relatively narrowlateral extensions, said extensions being bent so as to form arectangular -recess upon one face of said shorter bar and adapted toengage the first mentioned bar when said shorter bar is in alinementtherewith, and an outwardly curved fiat spring secured at its center tothe outer face of said first mentioned bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature.

JOSEPH F. PARKER.

